Guide to collaborative family law

In a collaborative divorce, all key discussions take place with your partner and their own collaborative lawyer working together at the same time. These are usually called four-way meetings.

What is collaborative divorce?

Collaborative divorce is an out-of-court option. You work through the various issues constructively with your partner in an amicable process and with the personal support of your own lawyer throughout.

In a collaborative divorce, all key discussions take place with your partner and their own collaborative lawyer working together at the same time. These are usually called four-way meetings.

There are many advantages to the collaborative divorce process, including:

  • It's a safe environment in which to talk. It's private and the discussions about outcomes are entirely confidential.
  • You have the benefit of two specially trained lawyers working collaboratively with you, looking at what is best for you and your family. It feels very different to arms-length negotiation.
  • Your own lawyer is there to support and advise you and make sure that all the important issues are dealt with from your perspective. Although the main discussions and negotiations will take place when everyone is together, you'll be able to get reassurance and guidance from your own lawyer independently as well.
  • Other professionals can be brought into the process too. They could be financially trained, such as accountants, pensions experts, or family consultants with a therapeutic background who can support you and your partner with the emotional difficulties that might be impacting your ability to move things forward. They can join the four-way meetings or be asked to feed into them without actually attending.
  • It's your timetable. You set priorities and decide together how quickly or slowly you want to take things.

The glue holding the process together in the traditional collaborative model is that everyone agrees to different lawyers stepping in if negotiations break down and you need to go to court or arbitration. By removing the immediate "see you in court" threat, you and your lawyers can focus together on doing everything possible to reach an agreement.

Our experience

Collaborative practice is completely in line with the constructive, non-confrontational approach that our team is committed to providing. Independent research has shown that where a collaborative approach is suitable for couples, it is very successful. That's certainly been the experience of our collaborative lawyers. The many people we've helped like the fact that they have retained control over the decision-making, but had the personal support of their own family lawyer to reassure and guide them.

This is why in each of our offices, you will find collaboratively trained lawyers who have experience in dealing with the full range of financial and children issues through the collaborative process. They can help you come through what will inevitably be a difficult and worrying period of your life with an agreement on the issues that matter most to you. This is done in a way that reduces conflict and, as a result, helps you and your family communicate more effectively and plan your future with confidence.

Choosing a collaborative divorce lawyer

Many of our lawyers are fully qualified in collaborative family law, and have considerable experience of working with people in a variety of situations to reach a fair solution. If you think collaborative law divorce sounds like the best option for you, talk to us today for guidance and support.  

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Our team of specialist family lawyers are here to support you if you're considering using collaborative law to solve your confict. Speak to our team today. 

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Collaborative divorce FAQs

Each case will vary depending on the number and complexity of the different issues that need to be considered and how long you agree to spend in each meeting. The average is perhaps three or four meetings.

The key point is that because all of the discussions take place in a series of focused meetings the collaborative process will almost always mean you get things finalised more quickly than with solicitor negotiation and certainly much quicker than through court.

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